Expert Interviews

Inspectioneering often has the opportunity to talk to inspection and reliability professionals from around the world about their experiences in the field and the unique challenges they face. At times we are lucky enough to capture these exchanges and share them with the Inspectioneering community. We hope you find these interviews as interesting and educational as we do.

The Province of Alberta has a long history of pressure equipment safety dating back to 1897 when the first boiler laws were introduced to regulate the new technology of steam boilers. Boiler inspectors were hired, and soon thereafter the Alberta Boilers Branch was established as the government organization that administered those laws.

The following interview with Rich Roberts provides answers to some of the questions our readers have about small, specially designed pigs carrying NDE technologies that can inspect nearly every area of a tube from the coils interior surface.

While the supply of expensive, easy-to-refine light sweet crude peaking in the US, Colombia is finding newer sources of crude which are of lower API, heavy crudes (API less than 20o). Reficar, RefinerÃ­a de Cartagena S.A. has recognized this growing trend of heavy oil needed to be refined, and is set to finish upgrades later this year to accommodate this demand. Reficar`s expansion is estimated to cost $6.4 billion (U.S.) and will increase the refining capacity of Colombia by about 85,000–90,000 barrels per-day. Thus adding incredible value to Colombia`s hydrocarbon resources and supporting the country by eliminating dependability on fuels imports. Praxis Global Research had a chance to speak with the CEO, Reyes Reinoso, about the expansion.

Inspectioneering recently had the privilege of speaking with Tom Wanzeck, Vice President of Integrity Services with Willbros Group, Inc. Tom spent more than 20 years managing assets on the owner-operator side before making the leap to the service industry, in which he now manages and facilitates world-class asset and pipeline integrity management programs for clients.

Earlier this year, our friends at Pinnacle Asset Integrity Services hosted a webinar entitled Mechanical Integrity Assessment: Why Bother? The broadcast included discussions on the history and value of asset integrity programs, as well as the evolution of the processes and methods necessary to ensure these programs achieve the objective of decreasing risk to improve safety. We have selected a small sample of these exchanges to present to you because we feel they provide important information regarding the need for mechanical integrity assessments in our industry.

Hydro plants are growing older. Being the first source of renewable power, it is imperative that these plants be kept up-to-date. Traditional issues are becoming refocused as equipment upgrades and new technology come into play. An industry is coming together to face new regulations to prompt maintenance and pre-empt dam failure.
Tony Billiard, Maintenance Supervisor, Idaho Power, Hagerman Area answered a series of questions written by marcus evans before the forthcoming 3rd Hydro Plant Maintenance and Reliability Conference November 5-7, 2013. All responses represent the...

Pinnacle Webinar - Mechanical Integrity Assessment: Why Bother? from PinnacleAIS
Government regulations require facilities to have a documented safety program in place, yet there are still many plants without any type of mechanical integrity program. Even if your location has a program that meets regulation standards,...

Though new regulations have changed the way offshore companies operate, the need to make safety part of an enterprise sustainability management strategy has never been more important. As accountability moves higher up the chain of command, operators are coming under increasing pressure to place an emphasis on HSE - especially with regard to human factors and workforce training. At the same time, juggling compliance efforts with daily safety concerns has forced a re- thinking of how to evaluate SEMS and training systems for overall safe operation and to drive strategic decisions.
David Munzenmaier, HSE&S Director GOM at Baker Hughes, recently spoke with marcus evans about key topics to be discussed at the upcoming 3rd Annual Offshore Safety & Workforce Capability Assurance Conference, October 2-4, 2013, in Houston. All responses represent the view of Mr. Munzenmaier and not necessarily those of Baker Hughes and its subsidiaries.

Leak related problems in bolted assemblies are an ongoing issue for virtually all facilities in the chemical, petrochemical, and refining industries. From leak detection to leak prevention, operators need knowledgeable and experienced technicians to address these issues before they become a serious problem. Recently, our friend and media partner, Inspectioneering Journal (IJ), sat down with Dave Godfrey of INTEGRA Technologies to see how INTEGRA is addressing these challenges.